Peak Phosphorous

Peak phosphorous more important to human life than Peak Oil: whereas there are alternatives energy sources, there is not an alternative to phosphorous. Phosphorous is created when two oxygen atoms fuze above 1,000 megakelvins (that’s 1.8billion Fº), so humans can’t make any more of it.

Life is directly dependent on phosphorous, as phosphates form the structures of RNA and DNA molecules and figure heavily in adenosine triphosphate, which nearly all cellular life uses to store energy. Plant growth positively correlates to the quantity of available phosphates, dying if too little is available and flourishing with appropriate quantities.

A menhaden fish kill in August 2003 due to severe hypoxia in Greenwich Bay, Rhode Island / Photo: eutrophication& hypoxia on flickr

The problem comes when excess phosphorous stimulates overgrowth in ecosystems, as in aquatic environments. For example, algae blooms exhaust dissolved oxygen in coastal waters. The overgrowth leads to decreased biodiversity as certain species thrive while less agile species die off in the hypoxic environment. Other poisonous organisms such as cyanobacteria pose a threat to humans via the water supply. The result is deadzones.

Two primary causes of aquatic eutrophication are fertilizer runoff and sewage leaching into fresh water. Fertilizer runoff has been some what mitigated by increased regulations. Sewage leaching can be reduced by processes that extract eutrophic nutrients for effective utilization before they can reach surface waters.

Ostara’s Pearl Nutrient Recovery Process does just that, lessening the risks of eutrophy and struvite scaling, while creating a positive revenue stream for wastewater treatment plants. Ostara estimates $1 million in cost-savings and revenue. Not a bad way to protect life on earth.